On June 6, in Game 3 of the 2018-19 NBA Finals, the Golden State Warriors faced the challenge of the Toronto Raptors.
Starting lineups for both sides:
Raptors: Leonard, Siakam, Gasol, Danny Green, Lowry.
Warriors: Iguodala, Draymond Green, Cousins, Livingston, Stephen Curry.
Injuries have become the biggest problem for the Warriors. Durant has not returned yet, and Looney is out for the season. Thompson is also injured and did not decide to sit out this game until before the game. Although Thompson strongly requested to play, in order to protect his career,
Deng Fang did not agree to his request to fight.
Because Deng Fang knew that Clay was not well yet and needed him to recover, and he would have time to perform later.
Due to the absence of Klay and Durant, the Warriors have become a Curry-only team.
Due to injuries, the Warriors adjusted their starting lineup, with Livingston starting.
The Warriors' starting lineup has been different for three consecutive games, which is rare in the history of the Finals.
The Warriors were missing two generals, Looney and Klay Thompson. This predicament forced Curry to go all out in the first quarter.
Raptors coach Nurse also made a strange move. He did not let his players double-team Curry, and his defense was not even as good as in the previous game. The Raptors' intention was to let Curry challenge the entire team alone.
Nurse still doesn’t believe Curry can defeat the Raptors alone!
Of course, this is also related to the weak scoring ability of other Warriors.
Without Clay, Nurse believes that Draymond Green, Cousins, Livingston and others cannot win the game!
The Raptors' defense is very good. As long as they don't focus all their energy on Curry and take proper care of others, Green and others will not be able to score easily!
One Curry can't beat the Raptors - Nurse thinks so.
This trick works well, at least in the first quarter.
In the early part of this quarter, Curry hit two three-pointers, made two breakthroughs, and scored 10 points each. However, his efforts alone could not withstand the attack of the entire Raptors team.
Leonard did not actively attack from the beginning, but handed the ball to his teammates. Gasol, Siakam and others performed well. Almost half of the first quarter, the Raptors led 19-9.
Curry made a sudden move and responded with a three-pointer. One player scored 5 points in a row to narrow the gap.
With 14.4 seconds left in this quarter, Curry faced the defense and hit another difficult three-pointer. The Warriors only trailed 29-33.
Danny Green also hit a three-pointer for the Raptors, leading 36-29 in the first quarter.
Curry played well. He played the entire first quarter and scored 17 points in a single quarter. But the Raptors blossomed more and everyone was on board.
There was only one shot the Warriors made in the first quarter that had nothing to do with Curry. The other shots were either made by him or opportunities created by him.
Curry rested for 3 minutes in the second quarter. The five players on the Warriors' court were: Livingston, Cook, Iguodala, Jerebko and Cousins.
At the beginning of the season, no one dared to imagine that the powerful Warriors would use this lineup in the finals!
At the beginning of the second quarter, Sika succeeded in a breakthrough, Lowry scored another three-pointer, and the point difference once reached double digits.
The Warriors did not panic. They played championship-level defensive intensity in the latter part of this quarter. Under the tight restrictions of the Warriors, the Raptors fell into the same weird circle as they did in the third quarter.
Curry made 1 of 2 foul shots and made 1 of 2 free throws. The point difference was only 7 points with 1 minute and 48 seconds left in this quarter. Fortunately, Lowry made a three-pointer and a layup to avoid another tragedy. With Cook
Iguodala threw a pie, and after halftime, the Raptors continued to lead 60-52.
In the first half, the Warriors shot only 38.5% and made 5 of 19 three-pointers. Curry made 4 of them and scored 25 points. His personal score accounted for almost half of the team's.
Under the tight defense of the Warriors, the Raptors' shooting percentage also dropped sharply, only 47.5%, and they made 7 of 18 three-pointers. Lowry scored 15 points, Siakam 14 points, and Leonard 9 points.
Changing sides to fight again, the Raptors summed up their experience in the second quarter and focused on creating offensive opportunities for Leonard. Starting from an empty-handed layup at the beginning of the third quarter, Kawhi gradually escaped from the Warriors' double-team cage. After that, he was outside the three-point line
I also found the feeling and hit the ball steadily, even turning over and hooking the ball was unsolvable.
In addition to Kawhi, VanVleet was also brave, hitting consecutive three-pointers. Tielin even found his touch at the end of the third quarter. As he hit three consecutive three-pointers, after three quarters, the Raptors were 96-83.
Continue to lead.
Shortly after the start of the fourth quarter, Curry caused a foul outside the three-point line and made three free throws. The Warriors scored 6 points in a row, chasing the score to 89-96. Ibaka responded with two consecutive shots, and Lowry then made another
After hitting a three-pointer, the Raptors responded with an 11-2 run and once again widened the gap to 107-91.
The Warriors made their final push, and Green and Jerebko each hit a three-pointer. With 3 minutes and 27 seconds left in the game, Curry made a diving steal and made two free throws after causing a foul. The Warriors only trailed 103-113.
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The Warriors were working hard, but unfortunately they were short of manpower, their physical strength was exhausted to the limit, and their defense couldn't keep up.
With 1 minute and 39 seconds left in the game, VanVleet hit a three-pointer and the Raptors led 118-105. This shot killed the game.
Curry finally came off the court, taking his first break of the second half.
In the end, after the whole game, the Raptors defeated the Warriors 123-109, leading the total score 2-1.
For the Warriors, Curry scored 47 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals. Among other players, Iguodala had 11 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists, Draymond Green had 17 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals, and Cook had 9 points.
2 assists, Bogut had 6 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists, Cousins had 4 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists.
For the Raptors, Kawhi Kawhi continued his high-energy performance. He made 11 of 22 shots, scored 36 points, grabbed 12 rebounds, and sent 4 steals. In addition to Kawhi, Siakam scored 18 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists.
Gasol had 17 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists, Danny Green had 18 points and 5 rebounds, Lowry had 23 points, 4 rebounds and 9 assists, VanVleet had 11 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals, Ibaka had 6 points, 5 rebounds and 6 blocks.
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Curry played very well in this game, but unfortunately his teammates were not strong enough and could score too few points. In the end, he was defeated by the Raptors, who were more balanced and had better offensive and defensive performance.
This game fully proves the significance of Clay: with Clay around, the Raptors will be afraid, the defensive end will be concerned about one thing and the other, and Curry may break out and defeat the opponent.
Without Klay, all he needs to do is double-team Curry appropriately, keep consuming Curry, and pay a little attention to the other Warriors.
Because the rest of the Warriors don't have enough explosive scoring power, no one can give Curry enough help on the offensive end.
Of course, the Raptors performed well enough. They defended well, were both inside and outside, had superstars, and their role players were strong enough. They deserved to win this game.
Although he lost the game, Deng Fang was unmoved and still did not treat Clay.
Deng Fang knew that it was not yet time to take action!
Deng Fang also believes that as long as Clay returns with full health, the Raptors have nothing to fear!
